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Happy Birthday Shorpy!

December 1910. "Shorpy Higginbotham, a 'greaser' on the tipple at Bessie Mine, Alabama, of the Sloss-Sheffield Steel and Iron Co. Said he was 14 years old, but it is doubtful. Carries two heavy pails of grease, and is often in danger of being run over by the coal cars." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.

Shorpy was born 114 years ago on November 23, 1896. After this photo was taken, he lived 17 more years until he died in a mining accident at the age of 31. This Thanksgiving, let's raise a toast to his too-short but memorable life.

Not trying to justify the working conditions that Shorpy and his pals had to work in, but I guess it was good training for the trenches of France where many of these guys would be a few years later. Heck, one might say that Army life was a vacation compared to day-to-day at the Bessie Mine.

Thanks to Shorpy for his inspiration and to Dave for taking the ball and running with it.

This was a rather poignant entry, Dave; thanks for all your fine work on here. Shorpy and I share the same birthday, and had his luck been better he probably would have been alive when I was born in 1959 on what would have been his 65th birthday. I think it is wonderful that an ordinary hard-working guy is memorialized on this site, and I hope he's is aware of it, somehow, somewhere, and is amused by it. I also hope that short and hard as his life was, that Shorpy had moments of joy and laughter that outshone the tough times. Happy 114th, Shorpy!!

that this excellent website is named after someone who would have otherwise been forgotten by history. I find Shorpy's story fascinating and the website a great part of my every day. Thanks for this site and keeping Shorpy's memory alive. A guy who worked hard and served his country.

Young Henry Sharpe, aka "Shorpy," looks out at me every time as a reminder of my blessings. I do hope he had some in his short life.

Another lowly worker, of a different kind, Green Cottenham, brought through exploration of his life a detailed look at oppression, in Douglas A. Blackmon's unforgettable book, "Slavery by Another Name."

I am grateful for the images I see here each day, which serve to reinforce the great faith and effort to achieve true freedom and justice in this country.

I am more grateful for the support which makes this site continue its important contribution to the understanding of what we had, what we have, and what we still must achieve; and for authors such as Mr. Blackmon, who "keep going," to bestow honor on the lowly heroes of our past.

A question for Dave or Ken. What prompted you to choose Shorpy's name and face for this site?

[The three photos of him just reached out and grabbed me for some reason. Poignant, I suppose. And the name "Shorpy" was appealing -- unique as far as Google was concerned (just one hit), and available as a domain name. - Dave]

It is true that the future of these innocents was inevitable if they were born into the mineworkers' families in small towns and hollers in which mining was the only work available. There were few choices and to earn a living, they just had to 'man up', take the high risk jobs of (literally) backbreaking labor, accept that any day could be their last and were glad to have any job. These strong and courageous men and boys were not seeking fame and admiration, just struggling to support their families and do their jobs well. Like many people, even today, they were probably considered "nobodies" by the upper crust of society but to their families they were saints and saviors. My mom told me that when her father finished his day at the mines and walked home, his wife had a warm bath ready (with hand-carried, stove-heated water), then started every meal with soup (to clear out the throat and lungs of soot) and made it clear that he was appreciated by his kids all helping and serving him. I can't speak for everyone but in his case, they never got wealthy (owed their soul to the company store), suffered many family tragedies and his work-related injuries stayed with him for life. Things were so different then, it is hard to believe it was just about 100 years ago, but people truly struggled to survive. We don't know how lucky we are today. Happy birthday Shorpy, we hardly knew ye.

in all the time I've spent here, that the site was named for a real person. Thanks so much for giving us this great place to visit and expand our views of history, and special thanks to Shorpy himself.

of Shorpy's lot in life serves to enlighten all of us of with unvarnished looks at the way this country developed. Thanks to Shorpy (who might be a relative) and all who make this site the success it's become.

There is much that is haunting about many of the photos that you post, but especially Shorpy's. I'd like to think that somewhere, somehow he's aware of this site and marvels that people know and remember him a hundred years later.

For being there every day ... Thank you Dave for this fantastic website. I wish we had one like this in the Netherlands. Very pity we don't. May you live on forever and ever. It would be nice if Shorpy H. could see these beautiful photos on his own PC up there in Heaven!

Unfortunately the name has an inkblot over it but all the details work out. His father was a miner. He would have been about 3 years old in 1900, and lived in Graysville, Jefferson Co., which is where Bessie Mine is.

I think it's great that Shorpy Higginbotham (by the way, I know a Higginbotham) is remembered presently as the name and face behind this site that shares our history through "family photographs" for us to enjoy and enrich each other with our posted comments.

What a singular thing it is for an otherwise forgotten life to be remembered, even memorialized, this way, via Shorpy, the site. Combined with that, the poignant story of Shorpy the person, his childhood and abruptly shortened life - I gotta say, it brings a tear to my eye.

Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.